(MENAFN- Alghad Newspaper)
I did not know that beggary has become such an artistic form of hustling, until a recent conversation I had with some friends and colleagues. A 50-year-old man in a brand new Mercedes with whom he claims to be his wife and his two children, would have you pull over, to ask you for directions.
When you do, he tells you that his car is out of gas, and that his family hasn't eaten all day, after he spent everything he has on treatment in one of the private hospitals.
At first glance, it seems legit to you; a full-fledged humanitarian tragedy, which compels you to give him all the financial aid you can spare.
A moment to spare, and you would be asking yourself a few questions before you actually offer some money.
How can the owner of a new Mercedes not have JOD50 to cover such penny expenses!
If so, and for some reason it is true, how can he not have an ATM card.
When I shared my story, and my friends shared theirs, I realised that beggary has evolved to the point of luxury for the posh and is quite widespread.
A friend of mine said that he was once stopped by a brand new 4x4, worth JOD70 thousand at least.
The driver asked him for financial help, claiming he spent everything he had on getting it fixed.
Others, we were told, hang around bank branches and ATM machines to insure the people they ask have cash, in case they succeed in winning them over.
It is discombobulating, really, and I would say that it is unheard of in any other country, besides Jordan.
The phenomenon would have us raise many questions, as journalists for instance.
It is inviting to investigate the details of such a widespread hustle and expose the identities of those involved.
Do they really own these cars? If they can afford to own such luxury cars, why would they beg and hustle?
It is possible that these vehicles are merely instruments of deception, owned by a group of people who divide the incomes from it.
Just as well, they may be rentals, leased out in good faith, you'll never know.
One thing is certain though, police and the respective authorities, given their expertise in dealing with fraud, must know about they.
In a way or another, police must have come across such incidents.
These cars roam the streets with seemingly real number plates, supposing the hustlers are switching the numbers with stolen or counterfeit plates.
Socially speaking though, we seem to be facing so many unaddressed and inexplicable phenomenon; fraud and hustling are just the tip of the iceberg.
This is beyond the conventional beggary hustle we're used to.
Even members of the middle and upper classes have resorted to beggary it seems.
Either that or the hustlers themselves have become rich enough to afford such luxurious rides to help them do their jobs comfortably, instead of running barefoot after people, begging them for petty charity.
the verge of yet another development in the ways so many people
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